And, so, fate has decreed that despite going on a marvellous unbeaten run that lasted 23-games, dragging us up from a lowly twelfth in the table to almost grabbing an automatic promotion place, Fulham will have to try and achieve their promotion dream by winning the Championship play-offs.
After finishing third in the table Fulham will play the side that finished sixth, Derby County.
The complete schedule for the Championship play-offs is reproduced below:
• Friday, 11 May (19:45 BST): Derby County v Fulham
• Saturday, 12 May (17:15 BST): Middlesbrough v Aston Villa
• Monday, 14 May (19:45 BST): Fulham v Derby County
• Tuesday, 15 May (19:45 BST): Aston Villa v Middlesbrough
• Saturday, 26 May (17:00 BST): Championship play-off final
Following the defeat at St Andrew’s, Slavisa Jokanovic remained in a confident mood, remarking,
“I always believe we are going to win the next game. Because we lost one game, I am not going to change my mind.”
There’s no doubting Derby County will be a tough task and Fulham will certainly need to play better than they did against Birmingham, but here’s hoping the lads bounce back from that defeat and can, over the two-legs, seal a Wembley appearance on Saturday 26 May, against the winners of the Aston Villa v Middlesbrough semi-final.